Intel dropping its own distribution of Hadoop big data analytics in favour of Cloudera

INTEL HAS ANNOUNCED that it will drop its own distribution of open-source big data analytics software Apache Hadoop in favour of the big data firm Cloudera distribution.

The deal will see Intel joining Cloudera's enterprise analytic data management software powered by Hadoop with the data centre architecture based on Intel Xeon technology while it undergoes the transition, with an eventual end goal to move all customers completely to Cloudera.

"The optimisations from Intel's Distribution for Apache Hadoop/Intel Data Platform (IDH/IDP) will be integrated into CDH and IDH/IDP and will be transitioned after v3.1 release at the end of March," the firm said.

The deal will also mark an equity investment from Intel, making it Cloudera's largest shareholder and a member of its board of directors. Though not confirmed by Intel, it is widely reported that the chip giant could be investing more than $90m into Cloudera.

"This is Intel's single largest data centre technology investment in its history," Intel said. "The goal is acceleration of customer adoption of big data solutions, making it easier for companies of all sizes to obtain increased business value from data by deploying open-source Apache Hadoop solutions."

Intel added that both the strategic collaboration and the equity investment are subject to standard closing conditions, including customary regulatory approvals.

Cloudera will develop its distribution as part of the partnership, including Apache Hadoop for Intel architecture as its preferred platform, and support a range of next generation technologies including Intel fabrics, flash memory and security, Intel said.

Speaking in a webcast announcing the move, Cloudera chief executive Tom Reilly said: "We are bringing together two firms and two teams with complementary skills for big data. Intel has great strengths in the data centre, and these are now combined with Cloudera's deep expertise in data management."

In turn, Intel will market and promote Cloudera Distribution Hadoop (CDH) and Cloudera Enterprise to its customers as its preferred Hadoop platform.

Both firms have said they will work together to help customers migrate as easily as possible from IDH/IDP to CDH.

Intel hopes that the deal will help promote Intel data centres and Internet of Things (IoT) technology by letting its customers manage and analyse machine-generated data from various sources, including sensors, gateways and a range of devices.

"We expect to accelerate industry adoption of the Hadoop data platform and enable companies to mine their data for insights that inform the business," said Intel SVP and general manager for data centres Diane Bryant. "This collaboration spans our data center technology from compute to network, security and storage, and extends to our initiatives for the Internet of Things." µ